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Townships reach no-wake accord

Boaters on the Grand River between a portion of Grand Haven and Spring Lake townships may soon not be able to create waves.

Alex Doty

Northwest Ottawa County

Jan 15, 2013

Both townships approved measures Monday night to send a formal request to the state for establishing a no-wake zone along a section of the river.

"This is something I've been working on since September," Grand Haven Township Manager Bill Cargo said. "(Spring Lake Township) agreed to support a no-wake ordinance limited to boats 26 feet and longer."

The desire for a no-wake zone in the area came about last summer. Residents living in the area said they were concerned about the impact that boat wakes were having on their property, shoreline and boater safety in that segment of the river.

Both Spring Lake and Grand Haven townships have jurisdiction over that stretch of the Grand River, which flows from the mouth of Pottawatomie Bayou west toward Robbins Road. The municipal rights of both townships extend to the center of the waterway.

The Spring Lake Township Board was reluctant to pursue a complete no-wake zone last summer. But Monday, the board unanimously approved limiting wakes for vessels of 26 feet or longer on the 3,540-foot-long stretch.

“Considering that our board has generally not been supportive of the slow no-wake, and Grand Haven Township's board has been interested in putting it in place, this seems like a reasonable compromise,” Spring Lake Township Manager Gordon Gallagher said.

Township attorney Ron Bultje noted that the legal description on the proposed ordinance would need to be revised. He said Grand Haven Township used a similar ordinance from the City of Grand Haven and changed the municipality name on the document without changing the waterway description.

To read more of this story, see today’s print or e-edition of the Grand Haven Tribune.